SALE!

Recently I was asked to write a few lines about what libraries meant to me as a child, for a publication. This is what I wrote: 

I was a voracious reader as a child, and tackled books that were far beyond expectations for my age. 

Libraries were my salvation. There, amongst the scent of wood and polish, the librarians with their hair held tightly back in a bun and stacks of books that never judged me for the poverty that prevented me from buying fresh, crisp books, I lost, and found myself.  

But writing those few lines made me think. I've spent a lot of time writing books over the past decade and a half, and I've watched prices creep up on everything from petrol to bread. Has it had a knock on effect on my sales? Well yes. But I'm no longer chasing the dream. I don't have to. So instead of raising my prices in line with inflation, I'm going to do the opposite...

On the 15th September the price of Split Decision (ebook) will lower on Amazon.co.uk to 99p and on Amazon.com to $0.99, for a short period of time. Likewise you can now pre-order the 2nd Edition of  The Owners, Volume 2: Storm Clouds for 99p. Cheaper than a 2 for 1 deal!

Happy reading. 

Sign me up!

Ooh exciting times!

I have just signed two contracts for work, and am about to sign another. I'm like a dog with two tails!

The projects are a little top-secret right now, but what I can tell you, is that one of them is for an adaptation of another writer's book for screen, and one is a publishing deal for one of my own books.

There is of course a lot of work involved - but then I'm hardly a stranger to that.

With 20 books and several screenplays of my own, I know what it's like to knuckle down, and luckily I love my job.

And rest assured, as soon as I can tell you more, I will.

Until then - happy reading!

RED ALERT! Price hike!

Thank you to everyone who has reported this to me today.

Yes, I am aware that the price of my books has shot up overnight on Amazon, and no, I don't know why that should be the case.

Rest assured I AM looking into it, but as anyone who had ever dealt with Amazon will know, they are a law unto themselves. 

So in the meantime, if you are desperate for a copy before Christmas, message me and I will post a signed copy to you. xx

It's been a while...

It seems like a long time since I sat down to write a blog post. I have been busy working on my latest book [there are only a few chapters left to write], decorating the new house and doing all the other things the summer holidays threw at me.

Added to that, I have attended yet another funeral, making it three this year alone. Let's hope it will be the last for a very, very long time!

I am increasingly excited about Ascension, which is due for release next Jan/Feb. My publisher keeps getting excited about what a powerful story it is - she doesn't need to keep telling me, I remember the excitement of writing it.

Similarly, the one I am finishing off is equally gripping. Different to Ascension, it has that same sense of time slipping away from the characters, who have to make sense of their situation.

The female lead, Tudie, is strong and her wisdom belies her nineteen years. I think she is a little bit like how I was back in the day and I have to say, approaching a landmark birthday, I envy her strength and indomitable nature.

Anyway enough warbling on... here's the snippet you want.

We are suddenly both awkward with one another. I refuse to meet his gaze. Instead I look for Grey.

He’s just behind me. A young woman stands next to him, and from the way she gazes up at him, I can tell what’s in her heart.

Her face is open, at once scared and yet strangely expectant, as if she has waited her whole life for this one moment. With her gaze so focused on him, it is still me who Grey turns towards and without him saying a single word, I know everything there is to know in that one glance. I can only wonder if he can read my eyes and expression as well as I can his.

Happy Reading - and don't forget to check out my Owners series and my thriller Split Decision.

Firstly, can I please thank the wonderful audience who attended my most recent talk, last week. Not only was I told that my books are captivating and that my writing is beautiful, but I was also given cake afterwards. [I love this job!]

Today I am writing, so here is a little bit of a chapter from the book I'm currently working on, set in a dystopian world where things are beginning to fall apart...

“Where is he?" I am panicked and I expect her to try to calm me down. She doesn’t.

“There were complications,” she says distractedly. She moves as if to walk past me but I grab her arm, harnessing her in place. Her face is so close that I can feel her breath against my skin but only for a second, before she turns away.

“What do you mean complications?” I manage to spit the entire sentence out, even though the words threaten to choke me. Bile coats the inside of my mouth and I can’t seem to entirely swallow it back down. I am more afraid than I have ever been before.

Happy Reading!

Sorry guys!

I have had a couple of complaints about my book Split Decision. It seems that you ladies are enjoying the book so much, you are going to bed early... to READ.

And guess where the complaints have come from? Yup, your men folk. Now whilst I am delighted that you are all so engrossed, I have to say ladies what are you thinking of? Rather than have your man nag you at bed time, give in and give him a little of what he will love... buy him a copy of The Owners series!

Joking aside, these have been genuine complaints made to me and I make no apologies for writing such compelling reading.

So for your copy of The Owners and Split Decision, follow the links on the right of this page or read the reviews on the Reviews page.

Happy reading. X

P.S. New books coming soon...

Update

To answer all your questions, yes The Owners Volumes V, VI and VII are written. I have been holding them back for a little while. I'm sorry that this has made some of you fret that they are not coming. Trust me, they are!

I have just been so busy with Split Decision and then writing another few books [and of course moving home] that I haven't had a chance to do anything about The Owners. That's about to change.

Here's where I was at in 2013:-

The Owners Volume V

As I am almost finished editing the Owners Volume IV, I am aware that my thoughts are shifting towards Volume V.

Changes are afoot - they ar...e the noises carried by the wind, the strange and unusual scents pervading the air everywhere I go and the sights which fill my inner vision with wonder and excitement.

I can't wait to introduce you all to the characters, some known and familiar, others new and unknown...who are waiting to fill your minds and hearts with their stories.
Come on a voyage of discovery with me - I promise you will never look at things in quite the same way, ever again.

The Owners Volume IV : A New Epoch.

Happy reading! x

Life versus Fiction

At the moment I am editing the book about the woman whose life falls apart when she hears some revelations. It was a hard book to write and it's equally hard to edit. The emotions which pour forth from the pages are raw and gripping. And each turn of the page takes me back to my past. For after all, who of us hasn't stood chalk faced and shaking when we are told about something so fundamentally wrong in our relationship that it rocks us to the core?

The other day I became embroiled in such a situation. For the sake of those similarly enmeshed, I shall keep the identities private, as indeed the minute details of the situation... but to see such a thing first-hand and in real life was heart-breaking. Trying to mediate as I was and failing dismally, it was all I could do in the end to offer support and a shoulder to cry on.

But it made me think. My own life [until this very moment in time] has been filled with emotional drama, heights of delirium and depths of despair that I guess in one shape or form, I must have invited in. Had my friend also invited it into her life? As an outsider in the private inner realms of her world, I could only surmise that it was a possibility that she had. We lead the lives we do because of the choices we make within them. That, after all, was how I came to write Split Decision, about the consequences of a choice.

My friend has recovered but will she ever be exactly the same person that she was before she found out the horrible truth? Probably not. Because I think that day, a little piece of her died. And I know exactly how that feels.

And me? Well as ever I will channel that raw emotion into my books as I always do. You see when people ask me if I write fiction, I nod. But I know it isn't really fiction - it is a written depiction of life, a tome which has recorded the vagaries of life, love and of humans themselves.

Am I a writer? Yes. Am I an imaginer of things? Perhaps. But mostly what I am is a chronicler. Like it or not, that's what I really am.

Happy Reading.

Coming Event

On the 26th November I will be selling signed copies of Split Decision at the Christmas Fayre at Lordswood Girls' School in Birmingham. 3.30-5.30

There will be the usual variety of stalls and I will be happy to talk about my writing and characters to all passers-by. Hope to see you there.

 

Happy Reading!

Here's another review

Another Split Decision review just in :-

"Loved 'Split Decision' by Carmen Capuano. Started it before I went to bed and did not stop till I had finished it!" Mrs Doreen Stoneham.

This came via my email from a lady who had bought my book for her mum and now wants to read it herself... clearly the whole family has good taste.

Many thanks Mrs Stoneham.

Are you looking for me? ;)

I think I live in a world that is increasingly surreal...

This blog gives me viewing figures and other stats which I keep a less than eagle eye on. However this morning I noticed that the viewing figures had shot dramatically up, [in a major way, literally quadrupling overnight] so I took a closer look.

When I followed one of the entry sites that people had linked onto the blog from, guess what I found...ok I'll tell you 'cos you will never guess... a site selling Viagra! How funny is that? Me and Viagra...what on earth could possibly be the link?

Answers on a postcard please! ;)

I was at the Women of the Year Luncheon Awards yesterday and was completely blown away by one of the speakers.

Michelle Mone took me completely by surprise, both during her speech and in our conversation afterwards. So much so, that next week, when I have time to catch my breath, I will sit down and tell you exactly why.

In the meantime can I say thank you so much, to those who bought my book or downloaded it on the day, and an especially big thanks to Sam who came back for the newest book, Split Decision, after having bought my first book from me the last time I was at the event.

So for you Sam and all you others - Happy Reading.

Another Review.

On the eve of the official Split Decision launch, here is another review:-

"What can I say... I could not put Split Decision down. From the moment I began reading it to the end it held my attention 100%. I was totally engrossed in the book. The Characters were amazing and I felt so emotional at times when reading that I felt I was Natalie. Your storytelling was sheer brilliance. Would love to see this televised as an English drama. It was the perfect book for me to take on holiday." Catherine Phelan.

Political Envy

Last night, in a social setting, I met the lovely Gisela Stuart, MP. I haven't met too many MPs before, so I guess like most of the population I had a preconceived notion of what might lie beneath the public façade.
 
What I found was a thoroughly nice lady who was able to hold her own without sacrificing her feminine touch. I was really impressed.
 
So I was delighted when she expressed an interest in Split Decision and left with a signed copy. What can I say? Apart from all her other attributes, she clearly has excellent taste.
 
Let's hope she really enjoys it!
 
Happy Reading Gisela!

A new review.

Here is the latest Split Decision review which has come in:

"Split Decision is one of the most enticing books I have ever read. I couldn't wait to immerse myself in it every night. An absolutely brilliant book! Thoroughly recommended!"

 

Zena Weeks, Special Projects Manager, England Athletics.

 

 

I'm so glad you liked it Zena! Thank you!

 

The Letter

Today I have started back to work and am so relieved. As I told you before, I have to edit a couple of books already written prior to their publication, but I also want to write a book I started some time ago. The story is about a woman whose husband dies of cancer. But just before he does, he reveals something which tears her whole world apart...

Here is a little snippet:-

The Letter

Chapter 1

The house sucked at her energy. It drained her like a thirsty hiker on a hot summer’s day. She could feel it pulling at the blood in her veins, causing tidal waves of that vibrant red life-force to course through her to a never-achieved destination, moving ever onwards, ceaselessly searching out its well-worn pathway.

But of course it was not the house which drained her so. It was the situation within in.

Jim waited for her in another room. Weak and tired, waiting was what he did best now. Waiting was actually all that was left to him. Fran wondered what was left to her. What would be left when Jim was finally gone? A thin smell of sickness which seemed to have pervaded the entire house? The ripe smell of a cancer unchecked, which had permeated the paint and wallpaper of their bedroom? Was that all there would be?

Or would there be memories too? Memories which would linger to haunt her as if the images and sounds were captured within the porous brickwork and plaster, ready to be replayed whenever the whim took them?

It didn’t bear thinking about.  But she didn’t really need to ponder on it. The situation played itself out and she was just a bit player in every scene, the one who was necessary to breathe a little life into each act, to make it real and believable. The only one who would be left standing after the credits rolled and the curtains closed for that final time.

Funny how even after all these months it still didn’t seem real. She flicked the switch on the kettle and waited for it to boil. The kitchen seemed darker than usual and she glanced at the wall clock by the side of the back door. It was in the shape of a cow, mottled black and white paint depicting its legs and head, its torso taken up by the clockface which showed the hour to be six. But six am or pm? She genuinely did not know. The months and weeks since Jim’s diagnosis had blurred into one and in these last few days even the days and nights seemed interchangeable.

So if you enjoyed that little bit, take a look at the books I have already published - you won't regret it.

 

Happy Reading!

 

 

 

Multiverse Me

Have you heard the theories about us living not in a universe, but instead in a multiverse? Many scientists now believe that we live [the me who is writing this post and the you who is reading it] in just one version of countless parallel realities.

It's what fiction writers have always expected of course and the idea has accounted for numerous books and films over the years, where characters suddenly find some sort of portal into another world that's slightly askew from their own.

But according to science, there are not just a couple of these worlds but continuously new and emerging ones, to add to the myriad already spun off. So in one of these worlds for example Carmen Capuano would be married to the first guy who ever asked her, on another there would be a career woman, etcetera, etcetera, each world spun off from the path not taken in this life.

This is in fact the premise of Split Decision - a showing of the other way, the road not taken by Natalie as she made her choice between the two guys. To find out what happens, you will of course need to read the book.

But what concerns me here are all those other versions of me. I feel for them, I really do. They are me and yet not me. Are they happy? Did this current me, the one who writes and is unmarried and lives in Bromsgrove, did she make the right choices?

Strangely enough its a vague worry. I cannot know their circumstances or whether they are ok or not, and indeed I guess in some worlds I would have already died from some illness or accident. And there is a truth that if these theories are correct, in a way it doesn't matter if I make the right choices in life, because that means that some other version of me does, although that might be taking altruism a little too far.

The weirdest thought that all of this has dredged up, is which one is the original me? Am I the one who was born and from that moment spawned a zillion other worlds with my choices and actions? Or instead am I created by the original, spun off like a cheap rendition from that very first split in my own life, perhaps the first childhood sickness I had or even the first time my pregnant mother rushed across a busy road and narrowly avoided an accident?

I will never know. But to those other Carmen Capuanos I would say this if I could, "Good luck and stay strong".

Happy Reading.

Available NOW!

Party Time!

Come to my book launch, eat cake and have a good time...

Split Decision - out now!